Chaos in Davis Cup as wild celebration leads to controversial penalty, protests

With the hosts Belgium 2-1 up, Zizou Bergs took on Chile's Cristian Garin in the important first reverse singles match on Sunday and they were deadlocked at 5-5 in the decider after splitting the opening two sets.

Then chaos erupted as Bergs broke the Chilean's serve to take a 6-5 lead with his wild celebrations taking out his opponent.

After smashing a forehand winner past Garin, the Belgium set off on a celebratory run with his arm in the air and he was not looking where he was going.

He run into his opponent when they both passed the net and the Chilean fell over, immediately feeling his head.

Garin was checked out by a medic and was given the all-clear to play, but he didn't return to court and Chile were handed three consecutive time violations and it eventually resulted in a game penalty.

With the game going to Berg, Belgium ended up winning 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 and they ended up winning the Davis Cup qualifying tie 3-1.

Chile protested the result, but the International Tennis Federation (ITF) stuck to its guns.

"This was a rare, unfortunate and very delicate situation and everyone involved, including the independent doctor, conducted due diligence based on rules and procedures," the ITF said in a statement.

"We understand the emotions attached to this unusual incident, but the final decision was made after consideration of all the facts and unique circumstances around it."

The Chile team doctor Alejandro Orizola also insisted that Garin was in no condition to return to action after the collision with Bergs.

"Cristian Garin suffered a strong blow to the eyeball, which caused him to fall and hit his head. This led to swelling, vision difficulties, nausea, and a severe headache, though he never lost consciousness. Cristian Garin was in no condition to continue playing," Orizola stated.

The Chile Tennis Federation have also vowed to take the matter further as it "expressed its deep consternation and rejection of the events" after "our player Cristian Garin was attacked by Zizou Bergs".

A statement added: "After being hit by the Belgian player, Cristian did not receive due attention from the neutral doctor appointed by the organization. Despite this situation, the general referee, Mr. Carlos Ramos, from Portugal, validated the continuity of the match and urged our player to return to the match. However, as he was unable to do so due to dizziness and inflammation in his eye, he was disqualified.

"Due to this injustice, we announce that we will initiate all relevant actions before the International Tennis Federation (ITF) to seek justice and defend the interests of our athletes and Chilean tennis."

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